Luqmân

This Makki surah is named after Luqman, a wise African man who is mentioned in verses 12-19 giving advice to his son on how to have a good

relationship with Allah and the people.

The believers are praised for putting their trust in Allah.

The idol-worshippers are told they are doomed for being ungrateful, distracting others from the Way of Allah, and for making idols equal to Him.

This surah talks about some of the amazing things Allah has created.

The idol-worshippers are challenged to list anything their false gods have created.

Everyone is told to keep Judgment Day in mind, because no one can benefit others on that Day.

In the last verse of this surah, Allah mentions 5 things that no one knows except Him.

There was an idol-worshipper, named An-Nadr ibn Al-Harith, who was mad that many people accepted Islam after listening to the Quran.

So he came up with an evil plan.

He hired some performers to sing, dance, and chant some fairy tales to distract people from hearing the message of Islam.

An-Nadr also provided food and wine to people as they were entertained.

He would even brag, "Isn't this more fun than praying, fasting, and all the other stuff that Muhammad (ﷺ) is asking you to do?

" {Recorded by Imam Al-Qurtubi}

Allah tells us that He is unique and there is nothing like Him (42:11 and 112:1-4).

This is why we cannot draw a picture of Him, because He is not like anyone or anything that you can think of.

Islam is probably the only religion that doesn't put a face on God.

If you search 'god' on Google Images, the search will turn up millions of results, mostly with human and animal faces.

If you search 'Allah,' you will find the word اللہ in calligraphy.

This surah focuses on the 3 types of tawhid—the fact that Allah is One and Unique: 1.

He is the Only Lord, Who created us, provides for us, and showers us with His blessings.

2.

Allah is the Only True God, Who deserves our worship.

3.

He is the Only One with unique Names and Qualities.

In Islam, everyone should be respected regardless of their race, colour, or background.

Allah says in the Quran (49:13): "O humanity!

Surely We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may get to know each other.

Certainly the best of you in the sight of Allah is the one with the best manners.

Surely Allah has perfect knowledge, and is fully Aware!

" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "O humanity!

Your Lord is One and you came from the same father and mother.

No Arab is better than a non-Arab.

No non-Arab is better than any Arab.

No white is better than any black.

And no black is better than any white.

What matters is who has the best manners.

" {Recorded by Imam Ahmad} The Prophet (ﷺ) also said, "What matters to Allah is not your looks or wealth, but your hearts and deeds.

" {Recorded by Imam Muslim}

According to many scholars, Luqman was a great, wise African man who lived around the time of Prophet Dawood (A.

S.

).

One time, he was asked, "You were just a shepherd.

Why have you been blessed with so much wisdom?

" He replied, "It's all from Allah, for honouring my trusts, telling the truth, eating from halal, and minding my own business.

" {Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir & Imam Al-Qurtubi}

In verses 12-19, Luqman teaches his son to have a good relationship with Allah and other people.

His advice involves 4 things: 1) Have faith in Allah, 2) Do what is right, 3) Stand up for the truth, and 4) Be patient.

These 4 things are the focus of Surah Al-Asr (103:1-3).

A human being is made up of three things: a body, a mind, and a soul.

Think of the body as the hardware of a computer (the case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse).

Think of the mind as the operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

And think of the soul as the electricity that powers that computer.

Many parents take care of the physical body of their children, making sure they eat and dress properly.

However, sometimes very little attention is given to the mind and soul, even though when people die their bodies go in the dirt and their souls go up

to Allah.

To take care of the mind and the soul, children need to learn about the purpose of their existence and how to have a good relationship with Allah

and the people—which is the focus of Luqman's advice to his son.

This is a true story that happened in Toronto, Canada, many years ago.

A father had been blessed with an awesome job and good money.

When his son made it to college, the father got him a very nice, expensive car as a gift.

Two weeks later, his son crashed the car.

So the father said, maybe he did it by mistake.

So he bought him another one.

Then a month later, the same thing happened, because of the son's careless driving.

The father was very frustrated.

He told the Imam what happened and asked him for advice.

The Imam told him that his son was probably taking the car for granted.

He advised the father, 'Make him work for the next car.

' The father took his advice, and got his son a summer job at a local store so he could buy himself a car.

Eventually, his son saved enough money to buy an old, used car after working 10 hours a day.

Three years later, the father told the Imam with a smile on his face, 'You can't imagine how much my son takes care of his car.

He washes it all the time, drives it carefully, and is ready to defend it with his life!

'

In the 1980s, as a young student at Al-Azhar, I memorized this awesome poem by the famous Egyptian poet Ahmad Shawqi (1870-1932), known as the Prince of Poets.

Let me share the original Arabic poem, along with my humble English translation in double rhymes.

At the end of the day, it's Allah who can guide children and make them good Muslims.

This is why Islam teaches us that parents should make du'a for their kids, not against them.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There are three prayers that will always be answered: the prayer of a parent (for their child), the prayer of a traveller, and the

prayer of someone who has been treated unfairly.

" {Recorded by Imam Abu Dawood} The Prophet (ﷺ) also said, "Don't pray against yourselves, or your children, or your wealth.

If you do, maybe it will be during a time in which Allah answers prayers.

" {Recorded by Imam Muslim}

Imam Al-Bukhari lost his father at a young age, so his mother took care of him.

She wanted him to become a great scholar.

However, he soon lost his eyesight and became totally blind.

His mother was very disappointed.

Every night, she would pray to Allah for her son to see again.

She always slept with tears in her eyes.

One night she saw Prophet Ibrahim (A.

S.

) in a dream.

He told her, "Allah has blessed your son, giving him back his eyesight, because of your du'a.

" In the morning, she found out that her dream had come true.

Imam Al-Bukhari went on to memorize the Quran before the age of 10.

Then he travelled to learn from over 1,000 scholars of his time.

Eventually, he became the greatest scholar of hadith in the history of Islam.

His book, Sahih Al-Bukhari, is the 2nd most authentic book, after the Quran.

{Recorded by Imam Ibn Hajar}

In many places in the Quran, Allah says, "Worship Me alone, and take good care of your parents.

" Our relationship with Allah, our Creator, and with our parents, who are the reason we are here, can never be cut off.

Our parents will always be our parents—you can't fire, unfriend, or divorce them.

In verses 14-15, Allah reminds us to be kind to our parents.

Verse 14 specifically focuses on mothers and the immense challenges they face during pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing.

This emphasis on mothers serves to remind us of their great sacrifices.

An advertising agency in the U.

S.

posted an ad for a 'director of operations' job with seemingly impossible requirements: present every day of the year, with no days off or sick leave, and no

pay.

The job also required expertise in various fields like healthcare, education, and business.

The Prophet (ﷺ) told his companions about a Muslim man from Yemen named Owais Al-Qarani.

Although they never met, the Prophet (ﷺ) said Owais would come to Madinah after his death.

Owais had a skin condition that healed, but a spot the size of a coin remained.

He was so kind to his mother that Allah always answered his prayers.

The Prophet (ﷺ) advised his companions, 'If you can, ask him to pray for your forgiveness.

' Years later, when Owais finally visited Madinah, 'Umar (R.

A.

) met him and asked him to pray for his forgiveness, which Owais did.

Joha went to the market to buy a donkey.

After purchasing one, two thieves stole it by replacing it with one of the thieves who had a rope around his neck.

When Joha arrived home, he was shocked to see a man instead of a donkey.

The thief lied, claiming he was turned into a donkey because he disobeyed his mother, and that Joha's purchase broke the curse.

Joha, moved by the story, told the man to go home and even promised to buy another donkey.

The next day, Joha found his stolen donkey for sale in the market.

He whispered to it, 'Don't tell me you bothered your mom again.

I'm not buying you this time!

'